The Discerning Brute

VEGANIK: 10 VEGAN PRODUCTS TO TRY IN 2010 (PART 2)

(Part II: #6-#10)

By contributor Nik Tyler

Continuing on my epic quest to discover new (to me) products that I think you’ll dig as well; enjoy #6-10 vegan products to try in 2010!! (see 1 -5 HERE)

6. AMY’S Amys
I think Amy’s Natural & Organic meals are groovy!! Everything they produce is vegetarian, and many are vegan. They’re all organic, easy to heat and serve, and darn tasty to boot! Amy’s vast array of vegan options range from breakfast steel-cut oats to tofu scramble to Asian noodle stir-fry to vegetable enchiladas to veggie burgers, pizza, chili, baked ziti and even chocolate cake (and that’s just to name a few)!! My personal fave is Amy’s vegan “Family Marinara” Sauce – which is a fantastic addition to noodles, quinoa, beans, sauteed veggies and just about anything else you can think of!

You can find Amy’s products at Whole Foods and several other health food stores. For more info, check out their website: http://amys.com/

7. MAUK FAMILY FARMS
Raw Breakfast Crusts I’ve been a fan of Mauk Family Farms products for a while now. This company makes some really delectable Flax Seed crackers (my favorite flavor is “Garlic Onion”) as well as two other great products called “Wheat Free Crusts” (brown and golden flax seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, celery seed, garlic, onion, red bell pepper, parsley, sea salt & water) & “Breakfast Crusts” (pumpkin seeds, black/white sesame seed,golden flax seed, garlic, onion, dulse flakes & sea salt). They have no grain or gluten and are rich in Copper, Magnesium & essential fatty acids. These crusts are totally addictive and perfect on their own… or try one of my favorite combo’s and spread on some creamy coconut oil and you’ll be in total ecstasy!!

You can buy Mauk Family Farms products at Whole Foods, perhaps your local Co Op or in their online store: https://maukfamilyfarms.com/mm5/merchant.mvc

8. ENJOY LIFE FOODS
Searching for a food company that makes delicious snacks and is “sensitive” to the issue of food allergies? Enjoy Life Foods is that company; their mission is to create and sell cookies, trail mix, snack bars & baking products that are uber tasty, as well as free and clear of gluten, dairy, egg, casein, peanuts, tree-nuts, and soy… And that’s exactly what they’ve done! My favorite products that they make are the “Happy Apple” & “No-Oats “Oatmeal”" cookies; They’re moist, chewy, not-too-sweet, and just undeniably delicious!

So now you know a company that makes treats that can be enjoyed by literally everyone, even those who need to be extra cautious due to food allergies. Be sure and check out their full product list and learn more about this cool company: http://www.enjoylifefoods.com/

9. 2 MOMS IN THE RAW

Founded by Shari, a very cool, health-conscious mom of three, 2 Moms In The Raw is a fantastic company that produces a yummy array of organic, raw Granola (“Blueberry”, “Cranberry”, “Gojiberry” & “Raisin”) and Sea Crackers (“Garden Herb”, “Pesto” & “Tomato Basil”).

The “Garden Herb” Sea Crackers are definitely my favorite; consisting of Flaxseed, Kombu (Sea Vegetable), Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano, Sea Salt and Spices - they’re light, crunchy, crisp and they taste like a fresh herb garden compressed into chip form! The “Tomato Basil” Sea Crackers are rad as well, made up of Flaxseeds, Sun-dried Tomatoes, Garlic, Kombu, Herbs & Sea Salt – they have a wonderful garlicky, sun-dried tomato bite! Both of these crackers are the perfect light-bite for kids and adults; enjoy them on their own or dip it!

In addition to their delicious crackers, 2 Moms also sell raw Granola which rocks! Not your typical granola, a little more chunky, you can break it into little pieces and eat it like a breakfast bar. The two flavors I’ve tried, Blueberry & (Gluten-free) Gojiberry are free of refined sugars (substitute Agave) and instead are jam-packed with a ton of healthy ingredients (buckwheat, coconut, a plethora of seeds/nuts and more!!), all of which have been soaked & sprouted to perfection; chewy, crunchy, semi-sweet and utterly delicious, countless textures and flavors awaken your taste-buds and take em’ on one helluva’ wild joy-ride!

You can purchase 2 Moms In The Raw products at Shari’s wonderful site: http://2momsintheraw.com/ or look for them at your local health food store.

9. SUNPOWER NATURAL

In addition to a full-blown gourmet vegan menu at their restaurant (located in Studio City, CA), Sun Power Natural has an awesome product line of raw cookies that I recently discovered at my local co op. The two flavors I’ve tried are “Cinnamon” (coconut, raisins, cinnamon & agave) & “Fruit Burst” (oranges, coconut, raisins, agave). These cookies are “chewy, gooey & delicious” and I definitely think Sun Power Natural has got it going on! In addition to tasting like heaven, these organic treats are raw, gluten-free & low glycemic.

Look for SunPower food at your local co op and Whole Foods, or just click on this link (http://www.sunpowernatural.com/) and get some raw decadence in your life stat!

________

I hope you enjoyed my 10 vegan product picks! In addition to these yummy snacks, try and balance your diet and combat any acidic/sugar intake by consuming tons of alkalizing greens and lots of pH balanced water. Here’s to your health!

1 Comment

joshuakatcher, March 15th 2010 | Tags: 2 MOMS IN THE RAW, amy's, ENJOY LIFE FOODS, MAUK FAMILY FARMS, nik tyler, organic, raw, SUNPOWER NATURAL
Posted in Contributor, Health, Uncategorized, cruelty-free, food, green, organic, raw, restaurant, vegan, vegetarian

Swim Trunks for Guys Who Care About The Ocean

Not only does Livity make their entire line from recycled materials and organics, but everything is produced in equitable trade. These trunks are made from recycled plastic and hemp. They are quick-drying, and feature some cool patters and prints.

Loomstate’s Baja Board Short in organic cotton are less bold, and feature a leaf-inspired print.

Patagonia also has a handsome khaki, or khaki check board short in organic cotton.

If you care about the oceans, there are some great resources out there for ethical surfers, like EcoBusinessLinks page on surf companies. Country Feeling Surfboards uses soy-based and sugar-based foams; deck inlays made from hemp, organic cotton, bamboo, and resin that is catalyzed by the sun. The best surf accessories, like hemp boardbags can be found at Wave Tribe. If you have an old board to recycle, send it to ReSurf! I also highly recommend joining the efforts of Sea Shepherd.

We know that The Cove has won an Oscar for Best Documentary of 2009, and if you haven’t seen End Of The Line, you must!

1 Comment

joshuakatcher, March 12th 2010 | Tags: bathing suit, board shorts, eco, end of the line, green, livity, loomstate, organic cotton, patagonia, reccled plastic, resurf, sea shepherd, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, surfing, Wave Tribe
Posted in Skateboard, Uncategorized, design, fashion, green, organic, recycled, social responsibility, sports, travel, trend report, vegan, vegetarian

Darbster, West Palm Beach, FL

Darbster

On a recent trip to Florida, I took my family to a new vegan joint called Darbster – named after the owners’ rescued pooch, Darby. I believe that it’s the first and only entirely vegan restaurant in West Palm Beach. We arrived on a rather chilly evening, and the place is an open-air bar-style restaurant with outdoor seating (dog-friendly!) overlooking a canal. Unfortunately for us, the place was wrapped in plastic tarps with heat lamps inside to keep some warmth in, so we didn’t get to experience any of the outdoor atmosphere. We were, however, greeted by a very friendly staff, and the service was quick!

There is a good-sized menu with several raw and gluten-free options, a nice wine list, and several desserts.

The food was good. The first thing I wanted to order was the Kale Chips, but they were out! So we started with the Palm Cakes, which were pan-fried, chopped hearts of palm in a savory pine nut sauce, and were reminiscent of crab cakes. I thought they were delicious, and I’ll have to try to recreate this recipe at home.

My entree was the Gardein filet prepared in a lemon, pine-nut sauce, and my sister got a marinara version with Daiya cheese and tomato sauce. My little side of mac & cheese was delicious. I so wish there had been more. The Gardein filets were a bit too thick, but seasoned well and very filling.

The Beefless Sliders were one of the highlights for my whole family. The special sauce was perfect, and there was just enough contents between the soft sesame bun. This is a must-have if you go. My mother and father (not vegetarians) thought these were the best thing, and that the faux “beef” was delicious and satisfying.

For dessert we enjoyed a coconut-sorbet sundae with chocolate fudge, raspberries, blueberries, and walnuts.

On future trips, I’ll be sure to make reservations for daytime enjoyment of the outdoor seating, or at least a warm night to be in the open air. The next time you’re in south Florida, definitely check this place out! I plan to be back.

6 Comments

joshuakatcher, March 10th 2010 | Tags: daiys, darbster, florida, gardein, vegan, vegetarian, west palm beach
Posted in Uncategorized, food, green, restaurant, travel, vegan, vegetarian

The Handy Dandy, Dandy

by Joshua Katcher

What did Beau Brummell, Lord Byron, Oscar Wilde, and Balzac’s Henri de Marsay all have in common? They were “metrosexual” before the 20th century. They were “hipsters” before Williamsburg Brooklyn, Studio 54, and the sub-culture explosions during the last half of the 20th century. A traditional dandy was basically a dude who took care of his physical appearance meticulously and with intention. Like Brummel’s famous trousers, his abandonment of the wig and powder, and his more subtle yet careful appearance which led to what we consider classic menswear, he set fashion trends. Grooming, dressing, and accessorizing paired with a taste for intellectualism, leisure, and an air of stoic, collected, self-assurance may have been one of the first cultural attempts of what we now consider being “cool“. Often, the dandy aimed to infiltrate the upper-class, typically having been born into middle-class families. Blending-in with aristocrats, and being artists or poets, like Charles Pierre Baudelaire, gave the dandy a political edge and helped break down class separation, but some (usually those whose positions of power they threatened to acquire) accused the dandy of simply worshiping the self, or making a religion out of aesthetic hedonism. For Oscar Wilde and Lord Byron, who would have been the subjects of gossip rags today, the status of the Dandy required an audience and certainly laid the groundwork for our modern celebrities.

But was there something revolutionary (or at least subversive) about the rise of the dandy? Here was a society of bloodline aristocrats and the bourgeois whose main identifier was the way they looked and the activities they participated in, that was suddenly being threatened by stealthy, self-made, middle-class individuals armed with art and poetry and philosophy and dangerous politics who dressed well! Their prowess was “based on nothing at all” as J.A. Barbey d’Aurevilly observed about their genetic inheritance in 1845, but for French-revolution dandies who hung out in the bohemian quarters, they were celebrated for being radicals and breaking traditional boundaries designed by the bourgeois. They aimed to exude contempt for bourgeois society by imitating their dress code. The rock-stars of the late 1800’s were dandy poets whose subversive lyrics had incredible social impact.

Being a dandy can come in handy – especially if you have a political agenda. This scenario often makes me wonder what would happen if everyone showed up to a massive protest in a suit and tie (as opposed to cargo pants and slogan tee-shirts). The police would certainly be confused and the politicians would certainly feel threatened that the most obvious thing separating them from those at the bottom of the ladder was no longer there. Don’t get me wrong, I completely understand why so many people want nothing to do with (never mind mimic!) those in power. But within this scenario, we can see the power that fashion has in the realm of visual communication. There is a mainstream visual hierarchy that we play right into by not giving a crap about appearance. On a level of self, this is fine, but if your aim is to influence others and communicate with the mainstream, it helps to put your message in a handsome package that gives it a better chance of being listened to.

Looking good and kicking ass is stuff of myth, but James Bond doesn’t own the idea. So put on a tie and go save the world, already! And also check out the amazing and hilarious Yes Men who use the suit to subvert:

1 Comment

joshuakatcher, March 3rd 2010 | Tags: Balzac, Beau Brummell, dandy, dandyism, french revolution, Henri de Marsay, Lord Byron, Oscar Wilde, the yes men
Posted in History, Uncategorized, activism, design, fashion, grooming, philosophy, social responsibility

GQ’s Spring Suggestions, SeaWorld Must Drown & Bad Parenting

• GQ’s Spring Must-Haves include a vegan new-wave boat shoe from Sperry Topsiders (without those leather laces, finally), fancy pocket squares of every pattern and color, bright and bold striped ties and straw fedoras.

When searching for a striped tie that isn’t made from hundreds of worms who are boiled alive, we suggest hitting up your local thrift or vintage store which typically have piles of ties or our favorite vegan tie company, Jaanj.com. As for straw fedoras, that one thing we love about spring. You can avoid the wool hats and go with a 100% plant-based straw hat. LiViTY makes recycled, hemp, organic, and fair trade fedoras in some bold patters and classic shapes, and Engineered Garments makes an organic linen boater cap. We suggest keeping a lid on it and sticking to classics like these:

The Hill-Side offers some selvedge Pocket Squares that we find quite fetching:

• I’ll be as happy as the next guy to see SeaWorld go under. The next guy is our pal Gary Smith, and he’s written an article on SeaWorld and the exploitation of dolphins and whales that flooded the enterprise with a 1.4 billion profit last year. In the article over at Elephant Journal. Ric O’Barry, who was featured in the Oscar-nominated documentary film “The Cove” and serves as the marine mammal specialist for Earth Island Institute, shares some thoughts with Gary on the recent killer whale tragedy. If you needed to be convinced that captive seas mammals are unhappy, this will do it!

“Orcas are the most social animal on the planet, even more so than us,” said O’Barry. “Males will stay with their mothers their entire lives. When we capture an animal like Tilikum, we take him away from the two most important things of his life; the world of sound and family. We put them in a concrete box and expect him to stay mentally healthy. It simply doesn’t work.” - Rick O’Barry, Marine Mammal Specialist EII

• Is Discovery’s Planet Green FINALLY getting the meat/global warming connection? Or not. The promos for Emeril’s Green(washed) Kitchen still lists “beef” as a major ingredient, but I got a recipe for vegan chocolate mousse in my inbox this morning, and they have a vegan section. Strangely, their new show Future Food: Gastronomic Geniuses seems like a bunch of dudes playing with their meat. The video showcases these “geniuses” shooting bratwurst with paint-balls, and trying to figure out the tastiest way to serve this meat up in mad-science ways. The maddest science is showcasing meat on a self-proclaimed “green” network when it’s the #1 cause of global warming! Hey Discovery, WTF!?

• Rock It Out: A Night to Benefit New York’s Farm Animal Sanctuaries

http://woodstockfas.org/art/animals/DylanPlusOlivia.jpg

Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary

This benefit will feature live musical performances, a scrumptious vegan bake sale, and an awesome raffle all to benefit farm animals at Farm Sanctuary and the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary! Check out what these sanctuaries do to save animals like Billy, who was taken in after almost being killed by a sledgehammer at a dairy farm just a few weeks ago:

Saturday, March 6, 2010 from 7:00pm – 10:00pm
Location: Reidy Hall at All Souls Church, 1157 Lexington Ave @ 80th St, Basement Level
$10 pre-sale, $15 at the door (cash only)
Pre-sale tickets can be purchased at:
https://www.mycommunitytickets.com/event_info.asp?eventid=26496

• Did society create monstrous people, or do a collective of monstrous people create civilization? This was the topic of last week’s Hardcore History, and we suggest you listen. Totally mind-bending! Could widespread child abuse and bad parenting in earlier eras explain some of history’s brutality? We think so.

• Learn to Lobby for Animals with the HSUS. We are only a few weeks away from the 2010 New York State Humane Lobby Day on Wed, March 24th in Albany. Join fellow activists to help pass legislation to crack down on animal fighters, stop puppy mills, end canned shoots of captive exotic wildlife, and protect farm animals from cruel treatment. To RSVP and get more info, click HERE.

• Jessica Reid asks GGA readers if a No Kill Nation is possible when it comes to dog shelters. There’s always a fierce discussion on the GGA comment-board, so have you say!

“The truth is you cannot blame having to kill shelter animals on an “irresponsible public” or “too many animals” when a shelter doesn’t implement lifesaving and low cost programs. I personally witnessed missed opportunity after missed opportunity from alienating potential fosters to terrible customer service to rude behavior toward rescue groups. I heard the same stories from other volunteers. These were not isolated cases. These were failures of management and staff to do what they should be doing: saving lives.”

No Comments

joshuakatcher, March 2nd 2010 | Tags: dan carlin, fair trade fedora, farm sanctuary, gary Smith, gq, hardcore history, HSUS, jessica reid, lobby, mousse, no kill shelter, pocket square, rick o'barry, seaworld, sperry, the cove, ties, Tilikum, vegan pudding, vegan shoes, woodstock farm animal
Posted in Health, Shoes, Uncategorized, activism, animal rights, cruelty-free, design, dogs, environmental justice, event, fair trade, fashion, food, global warming, green, news, organic, pets, philosophy, recipes, recycled, social responsibility, trend report, vegan, vegetarian

VEGANIK: 10 VEGAN PRODUCTS TO TRY IN 2010 (PART 2)

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Darbster, West Palm Beach, FL

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